Foreign missions is not only about being there for the nationals; it’s about being there for others who serve on the
field too! Yesterday we said goodbye to the last two of our house guests, Micah
(23) and Hannah (18), MK’s from neighboring Russia. They had to stay an extra week waiting for their visas; while they were here, we got dumped on royally with tons of snow, the likes of which I’ve not seen since I was a little girl, in the
1970’s in Minnesota. It began on Matt's birthday, November 21st, and is still coming down as I write this, November 25th. Rain is predicted in two days. Crazy!
Since we recently returned from a month-long stay in the US, and ourselves had to depend upon the hospitality of others, I had a laundry list of hosting to-do’s and “what-not-to-do”’s fresh in my memory, little creature comforts that make a stay in someone else’s home, well, comfortable. So when, upon our return, we were asked to host a missionary family, I stepped into the role of hostess with my whole heart, taking my cue from Matt’s email reply to the family's father, who requested we take care of his wife and children for a few weeks. My husband, bless him, had simply replied, “We look forward to serving you.” Serve? Was that the right choice of word, honey? You mean they won’t be making the meals or cleaning the house? I may have gulped; but I appreciated Matt’s leadership, and knew it to be the appropriate and godly response.
What an opportunity to practice such things as love for the brethren (I John 3:14), a Christ like servant’s heart (Acts 20:19), and hospitality (Romans 12:13, Timothy 3:2, Titus 1:8, I Peter 4:9)! It’s been on my mind and heart these past many months to increase in my love for people, and I don’t know about you, but once I set out to do something requiring supernatural assistance, God takes me up on the offer right away. So a family of four is coming to stay?! Sure! I’ll just put my finger on the pause button of my life, no problem!
Scripture is clear about how we are to serve. All the applicable verses don't indicate there are any gray areas, "special circumstances" where we can wiggle out of serving, maybe to people I don’t agree with, perhaps, or to people who take advantage of me, or who aren’t grateful. My guidebook, the Bible, God’s loving book of letters to me, clearly says those that are His are to love hospitality, be given to it, to love to serve regardless, and to do so for the Lord, not for the praise of man. I go on to read that we are to love our spiritual family so much we would be willing to die for them (I John 3:16). Wow. Okay, Lord, it doesn’t sound like such a sacrifice to cook and clean for a few weeks, in that context. We cleaned, went food shopping, and moved furniture around in anticipation of the additional family members.
Well, about 2 weeks in, during which I planned and prepared
food for six people twice a day, and kept up with the cleaning and laundry and
toddler care, I was getting physically, and mentally, worn out. The inability to
pay greater attention to our personal affairs and ministry responsibilities
started to bother me. Any distant dream I ever entertained of running my own
B&B in retirement faded completely, and if anyone EVER expresses to me it
is their dream, I will promptly list a zillion reasons why I highly discourage
it. There is absolutely nothing romantic or exciting about being a maid and cook night
and day! That purposeful frame of mind to serve others, which I started out so joyfully engaged in, was turning me into a ....servant, a maid! A chief cook and bottle washer is still...cook and bottle washer.
It sounds really good, both in the spiritual and physical realm, to say you are practicing servant leadership. But the reality is that it is grunge work. No one would have looked at me, laboring in the kitchen, and thought, “Poor girl, doing all this work.” It would more likely be "What's she working so hard for?" Jesus washed the feet of his apostles, and onlookers thought it was a little crazy. Just last month, my sisters and sister in law, and my mother, all played host to my family, and even though I was appreciative, I never gave their labors on my behalf a second thought.
While in my own kitchen, laboring away, my attitude began to spiral downwards as I let my weary feelings dictate my thoughts. Of course my pride would not allow me to say, “Get in the kitchen and make your own meals!” or “Do your own dishes!” Hosts don’t do that. I prayed for grace to continue to serve. I needed God’s enabling grace!
His Amazing Grace. It’s what saves us in the first place, when we first believe. It has nothing to do with me, or anything I have or haven't done. He did it all, past tense, on the cross. He continues to give grace, present tense, for the journey. It was apparent to me that I had gotten off-track in my serving. I had started doing it in my own strength, and for myself. I mean, who doesn’t want to be thanked after a splendid meal of pork roast, home baked bread, roasted paprika potatoes and ginger carrot salad, and for dessert, chewy gooey brownies? But that attitude is so totally out of whack with what gracious hospitality is, in God's eyes. A servant serves, not for personal gain or praise, but for the pure joy of serving.
Well, my expectations got straightened out. I serve God Almighty, high on his throne in heaven and in my heart. He will have a few things to say to me on Judgment Day about that meal, and a zillion other meals, and it won’t be good for me if my heart wasn’t pure. I got back behind the kitchen sink upon my return, confident in the joy that I was serving my God, not man. I was no longer waiting for praise or thanks, or an equal exchange of labor, and that was a relief. God was watching my heart, and that is what I needed to keep pure before him. He wanted me to care for this family, and I was not to question that reason, nor give him trouble for filling my house, his house, with guests.
It all has a happy ending. We thoroughly enjoyed observing the relationships of a more established missionary family, and we made eternal friends. I learned some new “quickie” recipes, as my problem is that I cannot just ‘throw’ a meal together. I have to do it old-school, meaning my meatballs simmer for hours in a fresh garlic tomato sauce, and my bread is from scratch. It's okay to serve Cheerios for dinner, if that's all you have, or are capable of serving. We were left with a generous gift to cover expenses, can look back without shame at anything we said or did, and will certainly reflect on this time in our lives as very special. There were a few hours Sunday evening when the snow was falling thickly and the roads were so hazardous that I doubted our guests would be able to leave, but the Lord mercifully decided to reunite them with their parents in time for Thanksgiving. It truly was a privilege to serve this precious family for the short time we were able to, and I am grateful to them for putting up with me as I grew in grace!
By the way, it's c-c-c-c-cold here!
